What Lance Armstrong said to Oprah Winfrey

Lance Armstrong confessed to using performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France during an interview with Oprah Winfrey, reversing more than a decade of denial. Here are some of his quotes:

"I could not have won the race seven times without the drugs."

"I made my decisions. They're my mistake. And I'm sitting here today to acknowledge that and to say I'm sorry for that."

"My cocktail was EPO, transfusions and testosterone."

"Not possible to win seven Tours without doping."

I went and looked up the definition of cheat, and the definition is to gain an advantage on a rival or foe. I didn't view it that way. I viewed it as a level playing field.

He said "my fate was sealed" when longtime friend, training partner and trusted lieutenant George Hincapie, who was along for the ride on all seven of Armstrong's Tour de France wins, was forced to give him up to anti-doping authorities.

"I know the truth. The truth isn't what was out there, the truth isn't what I said... This story was so perfect for so long... you overcome the disease, you win the Tour de France seven times, you have a happy marriage, you have children. I mean, it's just this mythic, perfect story."

"I am sorry for taking performance-enhancing drugs during my career and that it was a mistake."

"I view this situation as one big lie that I repeated a lot of times."

"I was a flawed character."

"All the fault and all the blame here falls on me."

"I did not use drugs in my comeback in 2009."

"Doping was part of the job."

"I was a bully in the sense that I tried to control the narrative and if I didn't like what somebody said... I tried to control that and say that's a lie, they're liars."

"I never forced teammates to dope."

"It's not as if I said no and moved off it. While I've lived through this process, I know the truth. The truth isn't what I said and now its gone."

"It's hard to talk about the culture. I don't want to accuse anyone else. I'm here to acknowledge my mistakes."

It's just this mythic, perfect story. And it wasn't true."

"I didn't invent the culture, but I didn't try to stop the culture, and that's my mistake and that's what I have to be sorry for, and the sport is now paying the price because of that, and so I am sorry for that."

"I disrespected the rules, regardless of what anybody says about the generation. That was my choice."

"If there was a truth and reconciliation commission... and I'm invited, I'll be the first man in the door."

"It's hard to define victory, but I thought I was out of the woods. And those were some serious wolves."

"I disrespected the rules, regardless of what anybody says about the generation. That was my choice."